Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos & Bill Gates Lost Over $115 Billion So Far This Year

Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates are all names that are associated with wealth. Particularly, Musk is always making the headlines for one reason or another. However, by 2022, these guys, along with many others on the world’s wealthiest people list, had lost billions of dollars.

Business Insider recently reported that Musk, Bezos and Gates lost over $115 billion this year. Companies founded by Musk, Bezos, and Gates were riding high waves of expansion just over a year ago, when the world was struggling with the epidemic’s waves, and these men’s personal riches were increasing.

Musk’s Tesla grew during what was meant to be a difficult period for the automobile industry, making him not just the world’s wealthiest person, but also the Time Person of the Year. Another strain of the coronavirus emerged at the start of the new year, and it appeared that 2022 would be quite similar to 2021, with lockdowns in place and economies slowed.

However, as the days passed, the virus’s menace diminished, and life appeared to be returning to its pre-pandemic state. Cryptocurrencies that peaked during last year’s uncertainty have plummeted to less than half of their high values, signaling that the bull market in some companies’ stocks has come to an end.

For example, Amazon’s stock soared above $3,000 in January of this year before plummeting to as low as $2,000 this month. Tesla’s stock peaked at $1,200 on January 3, but has since lost a significant amount of value, falling to $628 this month. Musk’s decision to dip his toes into the social media game by offering to buy Twitter for cash also contributed to the decline.

Investors are concerned that Musk may sell Tesla stock to fund his new venture, in addition to suspicions that his attention will shift away from his electric vehicle company. Musk’s personal wealth has plummeted by as much as $46 billion since the start of 2022, and while some of the blame may be attributed to the Twitter buyout, Musk is in the same boat as other billionaires.

Bezos has lost $53 billion in personal wealth this year, while Bernard Arnault, the world’s third richest man, has lost $44 billion. Bill Gates’ losses, by contrast, are substantially smaller at $15 billion, according to Business Insider. Unlike Musk and Bezos, who remain deeply invested in the businesses they started, Gates has diversified his portfolio and invested in Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway assets. Buffett is the only person in the top five richest people list whose net worth increased in 2022.

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